Moves:
UK & Ireland
BCLP Exits Continue as Jones Day Swipes Real Estate Partner
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner real estate partner Matthew Peel has left to join Jones Day in London.
Schulte Turns To In-House Talent For Rare London Hire
Meanwhile, US firm Sidley Austin has recruited its latest London partner from an investment firm.
Travers Loses Another Practice Head As White & Case Latest Firm To Swoop In
White & Case has strengthened its London tax practice with the addition of Travers Smith’s M&A tax head.
Leading US public international lawyer joins 11KBW in London from Foley Hoag
Paul Reichler, who co-founded the international arbitration practice at Foley Hoag more than 20 years ago, has retired from the US firm and joined London set 11KBW.
Radcliffe Chambers raids Five Paper for commercial team
Radcliffe Chambers has swiped a team of four from Five Paper’s commercial practice group, including its commercial team leader Simon Mills.
BCLP Head of Mining Jumps Ship for Simmons & Simmons
Simmons & Simmons has hired Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s head of mining, Alexander Keepin.
Slaughter and May private equity head Jeff Twentyman is shortly retiring
Jeff Twentyman is the latest heavyweight member of Slaughter and May to prepare to step down from the partnership, as the firm’s old guard continues to change.
EMEA
McDermott Will & Emery has hired Mayer Brown’s former Paris head of investigations to co-head its global investigations and compliance group.
Charles Russell Adds 2 Disputes Partners in Dubai, London
Charles Russell Speechlys has added two new partners to its litigation and dispute resolution practice, in Dubai and London.
Clyde & Co Adds Corporate Partner in Saudi Arabia
Clyde & Co has hired a senior corporate and commercial lawyer in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Garrigues Adds Partners to in Barcelona and Bogotá Practices
The hires come on the heels of a report which found that women lawyers account for less than a third of the top law firm positions in Spain.
Ashurst Hits Bird & Bird for Munich Tech Partner
The hire comes as Ashurst marks out digital transformation as a key strategic focus.
McDermott taps Noerr and Latham to expand German private equity team
Top 25 US firm McDermott Will & Emery has made a twin partner hire from Noerr and Latham & Watkins to boost its German private equity practice.
PwC Legal Hires Pinsent Masons Frankfurt Real Estate Partner
Tobias Nuß will join as a director/local partner in the Frankfurt office in the firm’s real estate practice. He advises in all areas of the real estate industry and corporate structuring as well as in cross-border transactions.
APAC
DLA Piper Hires Nishimura & Asahi Corporate M&A Partner in Tokyo
DLA Piper has bolstered its cross-border M&A and energy-related project advisory capability with the hire of corporate M&A partner Peter Armstrong from Nishimura & Asahi in Tokyo.
DLA Piper hires Loyens & Loeff Singapore Head for Asia Tax Practice
DLA Piper has appointed international tax veteran Barbara Voskamp as a partner for its Singapore office.
Australia’s Clayton Utz Bolsters Environment Team With Partner Hire
Australian corporate law firm Clayton Utz has hired a planning law partner to join its environment and sustainable development team in Brisbane.
Sidley Austin Adds Hong Kong Disputes Partner From Reed Smith
Sidley Austin has hired a new partner, Stephanie Chan, from Reed Smith in Hong Kong.
Reed Smith and Morgan Lewis Add Debt Securities Partners to Hong Kong Practices
Reed Smith and Morgan Lewis have both appointed a new debt securities partners to their Hong Kong offices.
Pinsent Masons Hires Corporate Partner From DLA Piper in Australia
Andrew Fisken led DLA Piper’s China practice in Australia. He specializes in cross-border M&A with a focus on advising clients from East Asia and Australia on their strategic investments.
K&L Gates Takes 4-Lawyer Team from Australia’s HWL Ebsworth
K&L Gates has hired a corporate partner and three lawyers from Australian firm HWL Ebsworth, as it continues to grow its corporate and asset management and investment funds teams.
Norton Rose Parts Ways with Sydney Duo
Norton Rose Fulbright has parted ways with two lawyers, a partner and a special counsel, both based in Sydney.
The Americas
Top 50 US law firm Winston & Strawn has hired a pair of class action litigators in San Francisco from Squire Patton Boggs as it continues to target growth in California.
Cadwalader secures leveraged finance partner quartet in Charlotte from King & Spalding
Wall Street firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has hired a quartet of leveraged finance partners from King & Spalding in Charlotte, North Carolina, in a move that promises to significantly grow its market share in the leading US financial centre.
Arbitration Chambers welcomes big names in London and New York
A quartet of eminent arbitrators from different parts of the world has joined Arbitration Chambers in New York and London.
Promotions & Appointments:
Bayer Names Next General Counsel, Swoops for Daimler’s Ex-Legal Chief
The new appointment was previously legal chief at Daimler Trucks, and prior to that was group GC at Daimler itself, now known as Mercedes-Benz Group.
Farrer & Co Elects New Senior Partner
U.K. law firm Farrer & Co has elected its next senior partner, as incumbent Anne-Marie Piper prepares to retire.
DLA Piper Life Sciences Head Takes Up Brussels Role Amid EU Regulatory Push
The move, which is preliminary to the firm creating a regulatory hub for EU work, is yet another signal of the ever-growing importance of the Belgian capital to global law firms.
Mergers & Alliances:
Taylor Wessing in talks with Spain’s ECIJA to form strategic alliance
Top 20 UK law firm Taylor Wessing is in talks with Spanish heavyweight ECIJA to form a strategic alliance.
Clyde & Co Merges With Boston Boutique
Four law firms have now announced boutique tie-ups in a major U.S. market in the last 24 hours, including Clyde & Co. merging with a Boston firm.
It’s off: Womble Bond and BDB Pitmans abandon talks
After several months of negotiations, the proposed tie-up between Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans will not be going ahead.
Office Openings & Closing:
DAC Beachcroft opens in Italy with eight-strong insurance team from ADVANT Nctm
DAC Beachcroft (DACB) is expanding into Italy with the addition of a team of eight insurance lawyers from Italian firm ADVANT Nctm.
Watson Farley & Williams opens in Seoul after hiring partners from two rival firms
Top 40 UK law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has added a partner apiece from K&L Gates and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to open in Seoul in a move it has dubbed a ‘game-changer’ for its Asia Pacific projects practice.
Greenberg Traurig relocates 11-strong team to launch in San Diego
Top 15 US firm Greenberg Traurig has relocated four of its shareholders alongside a team of counsel and patent agents to open an office in San Diego, the firm’s sixth in California.
Dentons to close Barcelona office, integrate team into Madrid base
Dentons is set to shutter its Barcelona office and integrate its team there into its other Spanish base in Madrid.
Nagashima Ohno Launches Indonesia Office With Local Alliance
Japan has been a major source of investment for Indonesia, with 10 Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi Motor, having pledged to invest a total of $5.2 billion in the Southeast Asian country over the next few years. The Indonesian government has also recently sought to boost foreign investment.
Kirkland & Ellis mulls Saudi launch in infrastructure play
Kirkland & Ellis is considering planting its flag in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The new branch would make it the US firm’s first office in the Middle East and Kirkland sources suggest that it would initially focus on the energy and infrastructure sector.
Financials:
ALSPs become $20bn global market after latest growth spurt, study shows
Alternative legal service providers’ growth rate has accelerated over the past two years as law firms and corporate legal departments increasingly seek ways to become more efficient, according to a joint study by the Thomson Reuters Institute, Georgetown Law and the Saïd Business School.
Shearman & Sterling’s Decisions Over Partner Pay, Practice Mix and Office Strategy Fuel Struggles
After two decades of slow growth in revenue and profits, Shearman & Sterling has been retrenching in several overseas offices while its total partnership ranks have fallen, with some partners leaving for higher pay at other law firms and others being shown the door.
Why Are UK Firms Losing Market Share in Asia
In the battle for market share in Asia, U.K. law firms are losing out, while U.S. firms are doing just fine, writes Jessica Seah in the Asia Legal Briefing. So what’s up?
Freshfields US Revenue Growth Outstrips All Other Regions, Accounts Show
The numbers show the importance of the US to the firm’s strategy as it seeks to compete in the world’s largest legal market.
Diversity & Inclusion:
UK lawyers increasingly concerned about their career prospects, LawCare study shows
Almost a quarter of UK legal professionals are increasingly concerned about their careers, a sharp jump on the previous 12 month period, according to LawCare’s 2022 impact report.
Baker McKenzie’s Brussels managing partner has temporarily stepped down while the global giant conducts a ‘thorough review’ into a former lawyer’s allegations she was subject to multiple instances of discrimination during her time working at the firm.